Successfully aligning two hinged components or hinged component assemblies together, such as a hinged gate and fence post assembly, in both the horizontal and vertical directions, can be very difficult. The task of aligning is made all the more difficult in the case of assembling hinged components together that are both large and with heavy. For example, aligning double gates to their fence post counterparts often requires multiple installers, including several to position and hold the gates while others fasten and mount the hinges to the fence posts and the gates. This invariably leads to misalignment of the gates with the fence posts once both sides of the gates are mounted. Misalignment may be the result of improper initial alignment due to misjudgment in the position of the hinges on the respective counterparts. Or, misalignment may occur once the gates are allowed to hang under their own weight. Although the gates and the posts may have been aligned initially, the gates, under their own weight, may cause the hinges to sag. This is especially true over time. For instance, significant settling of the fence and/or gate posts may occur, thus contributing to the misalignment. Or, extended use and environmental conditions may contribute to the misalignment. Another contributing factor to misalignment is the change in ground conditions, such as a rise or fall in grass thatch, shifting or elevational changes in sidewalks, driveways, etc.
In any event, the difficulty in properly aligning the gates to the fence posts using prior known hinges and methods can lead to poor work quality and improper operating relationship between the hinged components. This is particularly true if initial alignment is off, which can occur as installers are often under significant time constraints. If the hinged components are not properly aligned, but the components still function, installers will typically consider the job finished. In those circumstances where the hinged components do not function properly, installers must dismount the hinges and then remount such hinges until proper alignment is obtained. This often leaves unsightly marks and/or holes in the hinged components that must be masked if possible. Proper alignment of hinged components is made even more difficult when the hinged components are supported on a sloped elevation.
Recent hinge technology has addressed some of these alignment problems by providing various embodiments of a hinge assembly capable of adjusting one hinged component relative to the other in the horizontal direction. One such exemplary hinge assembly includes a post bracket and a gate bracket, separable from one another, with a horizontal screw fixed to a vertical pin mounted to the post bracket. The gate bracket is slidably mounted to the horizontal screw with a collar. The gate bracket maintains a position with respect to the horizontal screw with two nuts rotatably mounted to the horizontal screw on both sides of the collar. Horizontal movement of the gate bracket is carried out by rotating one nut about the horizontal screw to another position, sliding the collar to abut the one nut and then rotating the other nut against the collar to place the collar in a fixed position. However, this arrangement for horizontal adjustment is difficult due to the tedious nature of rotating each nut to a new position on the horizontal screw. Moreover, due to the design configuration of the gate and post brackets, little room is available for turning and tightening the nuts. Such horizontal adjustment is even more problematic when it is required on multiple hinge assemblies, such as for an upper and lower hinge on each side of a two-panel gate, as is often the case.
Other types of hinges for mounting doors to a doorjamb of a home have also addressed vertical alignment issues. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,212,734 to Commons, U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,919 to Miller et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,580 to Hellstrom et al. each disclose a hinge assembly having a first hinge and a second hinge for mounting to a respective door frame and door. However, the vertical adjustment for each hinge assembly disclosed in these references is limited to under half the effective length of the vertical pin coupling the first and second hinges together. Such limited vertical adjustment does not solve the large vertical adjustments needed for a large and heavy fence and gate assembly and, further, does not solve several inherent operating or functioning issues, such as that of binding the mounting portions of the hinge assembly during operation or actuation of the gate. Binding may occur when one hinge is adjusted more than its complementary hinge. Furthermore, these prior related hinge assemblies are primarily configured for use with lightweight doors in interior settings, rather than for large and heavy hinged components, such as the fence and gate assembly discussed above.